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“Race you to the end of the line.” Michael started running. I rolled the cart behind and ran after him. He got to the end of the line before I did. “I won again! I won again!” He yelled in melody.
We both laughed. I was already exhausted, so I took some time to catch my breath. Michael was still jumping like he could go for five more races down the line. I begged him to stop as we needed to head back to the grocer.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and saw it was from the ranch.
“I’m busy now. I’ll call you back.” I responded to the call.
“It’s very important, sir.” A male voice from the other end of the phone.It was a familiar voice.
“Rick, I’m off today. What could be so important it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” I asked.
“Some of the cattle escaped the ranch,” Rick said.
“What?” I exclaimed, gradually walking over to the counter. “Mike, wait for me there.” I turned to instruct my son, who paid even less attention to me with his eyes fixed on some shelved stuff.
I snapped my fingers to get his attention. I waited until he looked at me. “Mike, I’m taking this call—wait here. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Okay,” he sighed in annoyance and went back to looking at the cereal. I huffed and looked around for another adult.
“Sorry, can you watch my son over there,” I asked the grocer, as I approached the counter.
“Sure, I’ll keep an eye out.” The grocer nodded.
“What did you say happened to the cattle?” I walked out of the store for a quieter place to talk.
“I left the place open to go get water. Before I came back, they were gone.” Rick explained further.
I was worried. My business, aside from my son, was the only other thing that could make me have a troubled mind. I paced around for a while thinking of what to do.
“What should we do, sir?” He asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“I’m thinking.” I kept on pacing. I heard his shaky breath over the phone. He sounded more worried than I was. “Calm down, We’ll find them. Just look around the ranch and look around the lake close by.”
“Call me back and let me know if you found them. If not, take a truck, and go to the neighboring ranch. And keep your eyes on the road, too” I added, and the call ended.
I couldn’t go back inside the store in case he called again. Plus, I’d need to make more calls if things got worse.
My phone buzzed again. Rick was calling back.
“We didn’t find them yet, sir!” He said as soon as I took the call.
“But we’re taking the truck as you instructed, and we’ll be sure to find them.
I was instantly uneasy, but I tried to maintain my composure.
“Rick, I must get back to my son and take him home. After that, I’ll go straight to the ranch. Make sure you search everywhere. They couldn’t have gotten far.”
“Yes sir.” He said and ended the call.
I walked into the store with a smile on my face. The smile faded to a frown when I didn’t see my son where I left him.
“Hey, where’s my son?” I asked the grocer.
“He was just here. Then I turned to…” she paused. “…did you see a little boy standing here?” She asked another customer.
“No, I didn’t.” The old woman’s crackly voice slowly came out. “He wouldn’t have gone far. Y’all look for him.” She added.
“Dang it!” I cursed. “Michael!” I shouted if he could hear me and come out. “Michael!” I called out again. This time, my voice was shaky.
